Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Christ is Risen!
We are now just past the half-way point between Pascha and Pentecost, and that’s always a good time to check and make sure that we are back on our schedule disciplines. So…Have we returned to the Wednesday and Friday fast? Are we saying our prayers every day? Do we need to go to confession? Are we taking advantage of one of the weekly adult educational opportunities? Are we current on our financial commitment to the parish? Are we doing all we can to support our sisters and brothers at St John’s?
And, don’t forget: May is officially SAY YOUR NAME month. And you can do it! Just say your baptismal/saints’ name out loud when you approach the chalice to receive the Holy Gifts. It will ensure that our reception of the Holy Eucharist is personal, and it will help the clergy immensely.
OUR CALENDAR
Fasting Days
Wednesday, May 25, and Friday, May 27
Daily Services
Monday, May 23 to Friday, May 27
Orthros 5am
Vespers 5pm
There won’t be any daily vespers on Mon, May 23. If you plan on attending the daily services, it’s generally a good idea to check the day before to make sure that the service will be offered; sometimes pastoral situations require a change of plans, and the service cannot be offered on that particular day.
The Hours
Seth Hart will be at the online chanter’s stand, offering the First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours this week on ZOOM.
First Hour, 6:45 a.m.
Third Hour, 8:45 a.m.
Sixth Hour, 11:45 a.m.
Ninth Hour, 3:45 p.m.
Please see the emailed newsletter for login information.
Tuesday, May 24
Orthodoxy 101 at 7pm in the parish house. The group will continue to discuss the Divine Services. Please see the emailed newsletter for login information.
Wednesday, May 25
The Pascha Book Study 7pm
Topic: Pascha Book Study 2022
Please see the emailed newsletter for login information.
Thursday, May 26
The Bible Study 7pm
Topic: St. John the Forerunner - Bible Study
Please see the emailed newsletter for login information.
Saturday, May 28
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, May 29
The Sunday of The Blind Man
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
ST THOMAS SCHOOL
On Saturday, May 28 Father Andrew Wilson will lead the discussion of Chapter Six, pgs 107-120 in Volume One, “A Summary of the First Millenium” https://theforerunner.squarespace.com/blog/2021/5/9/orthodox-christianity-vol-iii-ch-2. In order to participate online, send an email to remote.meetings@theforerunner.org by this coming Thursday, May 19; you will also need to keep your camera on during the session.
PASCHAL BOOK STUDY
The Pascha Book Study will wrap up this Wednesday evening. Father Andrew Wilson and Father Michael Coleman are leading the group, and the study will end with a look at grief through a letter of consolation sent by St. John Chrysostom to a spiritual daughter whose husband had died. Those materials are available in the bookstore for only the cost of what it took to get them printed. Here are the assignments for the final session:
Session 5 - Letter to a Grieving Widow & Conclusion
Read: Letter to a Grieving Widow (13 pages)
COMING UP
Feast of the Ascension
Thursday, June 2 is the Feast of the Ascension.
Orthros at 5am
Divine Liturgy at 7am
We will serve Great Vespers on Wednesday, June 1 at 7pm
Please join us as we celebrate the entrance of our Lord and Master into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Last Saturday of Souls
Saturday, June 11 is the last Saturday of Souls of the year. There will be coffee and snacks available after Liturgy and the Burial Society will be on hand to help parishioners finalize their end-of-life paperwork.
Members of the legal team will be on hand to:
Answer Questions
Serve as Signing Witnesses
Notarize Documents
Copy, Seal, and File Everything in a Locked Cabinet
Get your paperwork packet today- it’s available in our Church bookstore. Fill it out ahead of time, then come get it signed, notarized, copied, and filed (for FREE) all while enjoying a cup of coffee and fellowship with friends. Also, a representative from the Cedar Park Cemetery will be on hand to provide information and answer questions about burial plots available just down the street from St. John’s.
Pentecost Weekend
The weekend of June 11-12 is Pentecost Weekend. We will have the final Saturday of Souls on Saturday, June 11, and
Sunday, June 12, we will
Celebrate Orthros at 8am;
Serve the Divine Liturgy at 10am;
Enjoy our Pentecost Picnic (bring food) during Fellowship Hour, and,
Serve Great Vespers with the Kneeling Prayers, no later than 1pm
Please plan on joining us for all those services and activities.
The Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America’s Parish Life Conference
The Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America’s Parish Life Conference will be hosted by St George Cathedral in Wichita, Kansas, from June 15th through 18th. Jerry Juliano will be ordained to the Holy Diaconate at the closing liturgy for the conference. Hotel reservations may be made at Reservations: Hyatt Regency https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/group-booking/WICRW/G-GECA.
June 13-19, the week after Pentecost is fast-free (Wha-Hoo!), but on
Monday, June 20, we begin the Apostle’s Fast. This short fasting season runs through the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul on Wednesday, June 29.
Tuesday, June 28
Great Vespers at 7pm on Tuesday, June 28
Wednesday, June 29
Orthros at 5am and
Divine Liturgy at 7am
During this short fasting season, we observe the traditional fasting discipline on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with a blessing for fish, wine and olive oil on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday
Our parish feast day, The Nativity of the Forerunner is on Friday, June 24. We will serve
Orthros at 6am and
Divine Liturgy at 8am
Thursday, June 23, we will serve
Great Vespers at 7pm.
Come join us as we thank our patron and protector for his intercessions.
Have you been praying for a local, quality Orthodox school for your children to attend? Have you looked into how to start one, but didn't know where to start? Save the date! On Saturday, July 9th, a team from the Saint Constantine School in Houston (an Orthodox school with a classical curriculum) will be coming to Saint John the Forerunner church to explain their established process that could be used to start a classical, Orthodox school in our area. If you would like more information about this project, get in touch with Julie Chien.
OUR MOMENT OF GRACE AND COURTESY
Definitely, it’s a really big learning curve for a lot of us, but we’re working hard to make it happen: With the approval of the parish council, the clergy would like to request that when we approach the chalice we say our baptismal/saint’s name as we cross our arms and open our mouths (parents and godparents will most likely need to assist their young children and godchildren with this). It’s actually standard practice in most communities, and now that are almost 400 people in our parish, it’s a practice that we also need to adopt. Thank you for your help making this change, and remember: SAY YOUR NAME!
THINGS THAT MAKE PRIESTS HAPPY
Blessing John H’s Mount Vernon Hermitage; meeting with the Church School teachers and assistants; learning that the federal government’s AATIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program) is not only investigating UFOs but also werewolves; offering the services for Brendan the Navigator; talking with Christine Y about grandchildren; admiring Jordan C’ cowboy shirt; wondering if the AATIP was able to get any footage of that werewolf who drinks Pina Coladas at Trader Vic’s (and if his hair is really perfect); watching a morning sky filled with lightning.
An unworthy priest,
aidan
The Happy Priest is a publication of Life At A Dead Run Media, which is a subsidiary of One Take Productions. Our IT Guy is Jerry Juliano; our Webmasters are Lily Halsey and Seth Hart; our Keeper of Lists is Father Andrew Wilson; our Roving Reporter is Michelle Capra; when we walk through the streets of SoHo in the rain, we always carry a Mexican food menu in our hands, and our Spiritual Advisor is Elder Galaction of the Holy Mountain